Authorities evacuate thousands in Colombia and Venezuela as rains result in floods, mudslides
December 07, 2010 - 16:08
BOGOTA - Dozens of people have been killed and thousands have abandoned their homes as floods and mudslides ravage Colombia and Venezuela.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday urged nearly 500 people to evacuate from the vulnerable hillside of a poor Medellin suburb where a landslide killed dozens as it buried about 30 homes.
The bodies of 30 victims — at least a third of them children — have been recovered from Sunday's disaster. Authorities say about 90 people remain missing.
Santos visited the stricken suburb of Bello on Tuesday and told reporters the landslide was a tragedy waiting to happen. He promised to build 1,000 homes for at-risk families in the town, where officials say some 90 homes are in danger.
Meanwhile, authorities in Venezuela evacuated 5,000 more people from high-risk areas, bringing the total number of Venezuelans displaced by weeks of rain to more than 106,900, Defence Minister Carlos Mata Figueroa said Tuesday. At least 35 people have been killed by flooding and mudslides.
Venezuelans washed out of their homes are staying at more than 700 shelters, including military installations, he said.
The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez plans to take care of 10,000 displaced families while it builds more than 20,000 homes within two years, Vice-President Elias Jaua told the Caracas-based Telesur television channel on Tuesday.
Photo caption:Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, right, points as he walks at La Gabriela neighborhood in Bello, northwestern Colombia, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010. Thirty bodies have been recovered but over 100 people remain missing following a Sunday landslide that buried a large area of the Medellin suburb. The Red Cross attributes more than 180 deaths to floods and landslides caused heavy rains in Colombia so far this year. (AP Photo/Luis Benavides)
The country's allies, including Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina, have pledged donations to help fund the initiative, although it wasn't immediately clear how much the effort would cost.
The region has been pummeled for more than two weeks by steady rains.